Why Donald Trump will be such a hard act for Joe Biden to follow

Democrats may despise him, writes Andrew Buncombe, but his supporters very clearly do not

Trump received the second highest number of votes in history during this election (Getty)

Karen Thode barely paused before responding to the question. How would she score Donald Trump’s presidency? Ten out of 10, she said with more than a hint of disbelief that anyone might think differently. She liked that he was pro-life and pro-Israel, and she had little time for accusations levelled during what was only the third ever impeachment of a US president. “It’s a sham,” she declared.

The Independent’s encounter with Thode took place on an icy night in late January in Des Moines, Iowa. But you could have posed the question in Miami or Mississippi, or in Minneapolis or Las Vegas, or any of the 190-odd rallies the president held after being elected, and the answer would be the same.

The people turning up with their bright red Maga hats and banners, waving the American flag and fizzing with excitement, all scored Trump equally high. It was 10 out of 10, (or 11), or else an A or A+ depending how they were asked to judge his performance.